Entropy (2010)

This is the project page for Entropy, where you can download the compiler. To see Entropy in action, check out Drunk Eliza, the classic Eliza program written in Entropy.

Description

Entropy is a programming language about giving up control. All data decays as the program runs: each value alters slightly every time it's used, becoming less precise. An Entropy programmer needs to abandon the pursuit of precision which most programming demands -- often working against years of habit -- in order to program effectively. Any output from an Entropy program will be approximate, and the more the data is accessed, the more random it will become. The programmer has, at best, a short window to get his/her idea across before the program corrodes. The program itself is not altered -- so the next time it runs, it is restored to its original condition, only to decay again through its next run.

Inspiration

Entropy addresses the compulsive thinking reinforced by programming, the rigidity of logic, and the way we must compromise with the computer in order to get it to understand us. It is something that has become familiar to non-programmers as they manage more of their social interactions and other messy human stuff through computers. It was inspired by the glitch aesthetic as used by net.artists such as JODI and by esolangs in the tradition of brainfuck, which twist logic into delicious nonsense.

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